A Few Subtle Signs That You’ve Become a Slave of Your Boss (or Job)
And how you can break the shackles.
It’s true that most people don’t like what they do, hate their bosses, believe that they are underpaid, and deserve something better. Yet years after years, they remain in the same job under the same horrible boss and keep complaining rest of their lives.
But why does this happen? Why don’t people just say ‘enough is enough’, confront their bosses, and quit the job for something new?
Well, since the spring of 2021, more than 33 million people in the United States did quit their jobs voluntarily for so many reasons, and this trend was named The Great Resignation or The Big Quit. But wait! It’s not the picture of the whole world. And people do get stuck in the job they hate and slowly destroy their mental health and happiness. Their boss or the job they do enslave them. But surprisingly, they never find out when that happens.
With time people become institutionalized. They turn into the puppet of their boss and live in an evergrowing fear of losing the job. And the company loves to take this opportunity and make the employees do whatever they want.
I worked at two companies in the last five years and have seen it happen. I’ve seen people losing their voice, confidence, self-worth, and so on. They got institutionalized, being stuck in the same circle every day.
But yes, there are subtle signs when you can become conscious of your actions and take control of your life back.
Have you lost your ability to say ‘NO’?
Employees tend to think of their boss as the supreme authority and do whatever it takes to satisfy them. Even when their boss says something irrational, employees hardly disagree with that — thinking it may hurt their boss’s ego or put them in an uncomfortable situation.
It has become established that whatever your boss says, you should respond with a gentle Yes Sir. Moreover, expressing any opposing thought in the office meeting makes your boss totally off (even when you are right and your boss is wrong).
It is why employees always agree with their boss (even when they should disagree) and eventually lose their ability to bring new ideas to the table. They lose their self-confidence and just become the puppet of their boss.
What you should do:
- Listen to what your boss says first and then speak your mind.
- Try to understand your boss’s point of view. Ask questions.
- When you have an opposing thought, express it politely (and always back it up with more information/evidence).
- Never be afraid to say ‘NO’ to what you find irrational.
Are you afraid to ask for a raise?
I quit my last job because my promotion and increment were due for nine months. And it was causing me mental discomfort. When I sensed that my boss was not ready to recognize my contribution, I quit immediately.
But I saw other colleagues who have been working there for years yet never thought of asking for a raise. I know their fear. They have a family to feed, children to educate, lifestyle to maintain, and they just cannot afford the risk of losing their job or being in the bad book of their boss. So, they always remain silent, keep their head down, and do the work though they are ill-paid.
It happens when you don’t enhance your skills and believe that you will starve if you lose this job. This fear entangles you and makes you settle for less than what you deserve.
What you should do:
- Always have a backup plan (invest some of your money to somewhere else, grow new skills, keep yourself up to date, and have side hustles).
- If you think you are getting less than what you deserve, you must ask for a raise (and, of course, be prepared to justify why you deserve the raise).
- If your boss/management denies you the raise you deserve, you must start searching for a new opportunity. Never be in the company or under the boss who is not ready to recognize your contribution.
- You can switch to a better company or make your side hustles your full-time job.
Just to share my experience, I left my job on November 05, 2020, and started writing full-time. And to my surprise, I earned 7x more than what I used to get annually from my 9–5 job.
See, you never know what is waiting for you.
You just have to gather relevant knowledge and a mindset to do better every single day.
Hard works never go in vain.
Do your office works occupy your family time?
Most people sacrifice their family time and do office work in bed. Their heads get overloaded with office meetings, work, deadlines, etc. Consequently, they fail to give their family enough time. Their mental health and temperament get affected as well.
If you have to do office work even after the office hour or your boss forces you to do so, you must rethink what you are doing and quit or switch your job.
You are working for your family, kids, and yourself. If your job eats up all your time and you fail to spend quality time with your family, what’s the point of staying in that job.
As a human being, you deserve to work in a good environment and live your life with peace and happiness. And the precondition to happiness is to keep a great relationship with your family members and near ones. If your job robs you of that opportunity, you cannot be happy only with your paychecks.
I saw people who were too workaholics to find time for their families. Now they have enough money but no family bonding, happiness, or peace of mind.
What you should do:
- Never bring your office work to your home.
- Work efficiently - so that you can manage all works between 9–5.
- If your office forces you to stay office late or do office works at home (outside office hours) day after day, seek a new opportunity and switch.
- Give yourself and your family the top priority, not your job.
Life is beautiful when you are in the driving seat and drive gently.
Never let your boss or job run and ruin your life. Never become a slave of your job or boss. And of course, never think that the job you are doing is feeding you. No, it’s not — you are feeding yourself in exchange for your talent, skills, and potential.
That’s why — when you find your boss irrational, speak up — when you see the office works eating up your family time, be conscious and manage efficiently — and when your contributions go unnoticed, ask for a raise.
Most importantly, if you hate your boss or the job, just quit the job or replace it with a better one. Remember, there are more things in heaven and earth than the boring job you do every single day.
Thank you for reading.
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